Fort Myers -  Once known as a “cowtown” in the 1800s, the Fort Myers area is now a popular resort destination commonly referred to as the “City of Palms.” Thomas Edison and Henry Ford made Fort Myers their special winter retreat. Today, visitors can tour the Edison-Ford Winter Estates, their impressive side-by-side properties. Tourists are also drawn to the city’s variety of restaurants, nightclubs and shops, as well as a number of attractions including scenic boat cruises from the downtown yacht basin, and the fascinating Shell Factory in North Fort Myers. Fort Myers Beach and the surrounding barrier reef offer plenty of recreational opportunities.

Edison Festival of Light

Edison Festival of Light FORT MYERS  Held in February, this is one of the area's biggest and most celebrated annual events, and commemorates the birthday of the area's most famous winter resident, Thomas Edison. It features three weeks of events, including a spectacular parade of lights on February 20th through downtown Fort Myers. Main events include opening ceremonies, a gala ball, fashion show and the Edison Festival 5K Race.

In 1885, Thomas Alva Edison built his winter home in Fort Myers, Florida on the Caloosahatchee River. Throughout the 50 years Edison wintered in Fort Myers, he dedicated time in support of local charities and projects. He died in 1931, having successfully received over 1,000 patents for his inventions.

The idea of a celebration to commemorate Edison's life of achievement evolved into the Edison Pageant of Light in 1938, with a Coronation Ball, a parade, a band concert and the memorial service, which began following Edison's death. The successful three-day event needed to accommodate a growing series of events, which later increased to a week-long festival, then ten days, and finally to two full weeks.

In 1988, demand for more public events was great, but the pageant membership available to provide volunteer leadership for more activities was limited. The choices were: To limit the growth of the public events of the Pageant so they could be handled by Pageant volunteers: or to create a new public corporation to assume the responsibility for event which were open to the public.

In a unanimous vote, the board of directors of the pageant elected to turn over all the public events of the Edison pageant of Light to the new, non-profit corporation. This paved the road to the possibilities of civic celebration in which the entire community could participate, not just as spectators, but as volunteer workers, committee chairman and board members. The Pageant also agreed to support the new organization financially and with programming expertise of its membership until the new celebration was financially and structurally ready to strike out on its own.

Following the 1989 Edison pageant of Light, the new organization, the Edison Festival of Light, Inc. Officially assumed responsibility for all of the Pageant's public events.

2254 Edwards Dr, Fort Myers 33091 · 239-334-2999